ViewPoint Financial Group Inc. Stock Downgraded (VPFG)

ViewPoint Financial Group (Nasdaq:VPFG) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from from a buy to hold.

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- ViewPoint Financial Group (Nasdaq: VPFG) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from buy to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, solid stock price performance and impressive record of earnings per share growth. However, as a counter to these strengths, we find that the company's return on equity has been disappointing.

Highlights from the ratings report include:

The revenue growth came in higher than the industry average of 12.4%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 0.0%. This growth in revenue appears to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, improving the earnings per share.

Powered by its strong earnings growth of 61.46% and other important driving factors, this stock has surged by 25.44% over the past year, outperforming the rise in the S&P 500 Index during the same period. Regarding the stock's future course, our hold rating indicates that we do not recommend additional investment in this stock despite its gains in the past year.

Net operating cash flow has increased to -$80.49 million or 36.98% when compared to the same quarter last year. Despite an increase in cash flow of 36.98%, VIEWPOINT FINANCIAL GROUP is still growing at a significantly lower rate than the industry average of 986.14%.

The return on equity has improved slightly when compared to the same quarter one year prior. This can be construed as a modest strength in the organization. Compared to other companies in the Thrifts & Mortgage Finance industry and the overall market on the basis of return on equity, VIEWPOINT FINANCIAL GROUP has outperformed in comparison with the industry average, but has underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500.

ViewPoint Financial Group, Inc. operates as the holding company for ViewPoint Bank, which provides financial services for consumers and businesses. Its deposit products include checking, savings, money market, demand accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company has a P/E ratio of 15.5, equal to the average financial services industry P/E ratio and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. ViewPoint Financial Group has a market cap of $395.1 million and is part of the financial sector and financial services industry. Shares are down 3% year to date as of the close of trading on Tuesday.

The ex-dividend date for ViewPoint Financial Group (Nasdaq:VPFG) is tomorrow, May 8, 2012. Owners of shares as of market close today will be eligible for a dividend of 6 cents per share. At a price of $16.22 as of 9:30 a.m., the dividend yield is 1.5%.

ViewPoint Financial Group (Nasdaq:VPFG) hit a new 52-week high Wednesday as it is currently trading at $15.79, above its previous 52-week high of $15.77 with 2,816 shares traded as of 9:34 a.m. ET. Average volume has been 229,700 shares over the past 30 days.